Living in the Rhythm of God's Kingdom.

Posts from the ‘Mission’ Category

The Guidance Team (GT) invites you to a Family Meeting on Sunday, February 11th from 12:45-2:30 PM after worship. The GT will share Rhythm’s budget and financial vision for 2018 and will be creating a space for dialogue and prayer about the direction God is leading our church. If you consider Rhythm to be your church family, please do your best to attend. There will be lunch!

The word agape means “unconditional love.” The Agape Meal celebrates that we are people who are unconditionally loved by God and called to spread his love to the world. We spend time with one another eating potluck dishes, worshipping, praying, and talking about what it means to live into our community’s Rule of Life.

The next Agape Meal is Friday, December 1st, from 6:30 to 9 pm at the Center for Social Change on the 5th floor (2103 Coral Way, Miami, FL 33145).

Everyone is welcome to come and participate at the Agape Meal, but we especially encourage those who consider Rhythm to be their “home church” to be at the meal.

Email Matt Alexander if you have any questions. Sign-up on the link below to bring or make a dish to share and we’ll see you at the Agape Meal!

It’s time for women and men together to rediscover God’s vision for shared leadership in the Church and Christian ministry.

When we lead together, we see the family of God restored.
When we lead together, we learn a new vocabulary for mission.
When we lead together, we better reflect the person of Christ.
When we lead together, we more fully embody Jesus’ gospel.

We’re inviting anyone who wants to make a public commitment to following Jesus with Rhythm to take on our Rule of Life during worship on Sunday, October 1.

We believe that God calls us to commit ourselves not only to Christ, but also to a local expression of Christ’s body, the church. Our community is one expression of the body of Christ in our city. When someone asks how they can “be a part of Rhythm,” our first response is simply to say, Come have a seat at the table. We’d love for you to take part in everything we do. If you want in, you’re in. However, if the question they’re asking is “How do I commit myself to this community and its way of life?” – then we encourage them to consider taking on our Rule of Life.

In 2012 a group of about 20 leaders in Rhythm gathered to discuss and discern what it could mean for us to have a robust community life centered around Jesus. Rhythm chose to develop a Rule of Life to express the shape of our life together. We believe the church is not a club bound by exclusive membership – instead, it is a community in mission bound together by the good news of Jesus and his kingdom. We are to be “partners in the gospel” (Philippians 1:5), called to a shared life and a shared mission.

The Rule of Life is not a binding set of “rules”, nor does it in any way create an exclusive club. Instead it is our attempt to articulate the core elements of following Jesus and growing together. Confirmed annually (and throughout the year for new friends joining us), it is a commitment to anchor one’s life in the concrete practices of loving God and loving others (the rhythm of worship and mission), to follow Jesus Christ in the core issues of practical living (money, sex, power), and to do all of this together (not simply as individuals but as a community). This is a commitment of grace that we hope you will receive freely and joyfully.

Please email Chelsea no later than September 24 confirming that you will be taking on the Rule of Life.

The Rule

✠ Because God is to be worshipped and treasured above all things, we commit to loving God in all aspects of our life, and pursuing Him individually and communally through spiritual practices and holy habits including prayer, scripture, gathered worship, and Sabbath rest.

✠ Because God’s desire is to bring His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, we commit to being on mission with God through approaching our work in the world as sacred, loving and blessing our neighbors, and sharing the good news of the gospel with others.

✠ Because Jesus is Lord, we commit to following Him in all areas of life including our money, our sexuality, and our power, and to showing our city how money, sex, and power can be used in life-giving ways.

✠ Because the Trinity binds us together in community, we commit to doing life together, pursuing spiritual friendship with one another, and reconciling in a way that honors Christ and each other.

Supper Clubs are spaces of formation, community, and mission. It’s a community that loves each other like family, challenges one another to grow in Jesus, and lives on mission together. Rhythm’s Rule of Life is our primary formational tool that we utilize in Supper Clubs. We grow as apprentices of Jesus as we practice his way with others, instead of trying to do it on our own. Supper Clubs are spaces of safety and stretching – it’s safe to be vulnerable, but the stretching happens as we take new challenging steps with Jesus. We need a space to be stretched in actually practicing the way of Jesus.

Supper Clubs are not primarily a Bible study, although we will be talking about Scripture and how it impacts our lives. Supper Clubs are not primarily a prayer group, although we will spend time in prayer and opening ourselves to the Spirit. Supper Clubs are not primarily a sharing group, although we will be sharing what we’re learning.

These groups are closed – it’s a semester by semester commitment, so please prioritize the times that your group meets. Supper Clubs meet every other week, beginning the first week of September and normally have 10-12 people. Each group is responsible for dinner and everyone is expected to participate in helping provide the meal. And there’s homework. Your growth will be directly tied to your investment in the homework.

Email Matt Alexander if you are interested in learning more about being part of a Supper Club this spring!

Do you desire to see your church or ministry experience more diversity? Do you have a passion to reach people across the racial and cultural divides in our culture? What does it mean for followers of Jesus to practice reconciliation?

Rhythm Church and Touching Miami with Love are pleased to host a presentation and workshop led by Pastor Darryl Williamson on pursuing multicultural diversity in local churches and ministries.

This workshop costs $10 per person (before June 9) and you can REGISTER HERE. The cost increases to $15 per person at the door on June 10.

Anyone who is interested in these subjects is welcome to participate!

Darryl Williamson is the Lead Pastor at Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, FL, where he led the church’s transition from a primarily middle-aged African American membership to becoming multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-generational. Darryl and Living Faith started Arise City, a ministry focused on developing missionary leaders for the American and global urban context. Darryl has spoken at conferences in the US and West Africa on the relationship between the gospel and justice, biblical ethics, multi-cultural ministry, missions strategy, leadership development, and spiritual transformation.

Workshop Description:
This workshop will focus on two vital aspects in leading a mono-cultural church or ministry to becoming a multicultural fellowship. We will first consider how a vision is cast and communicated for a multicultural movement. Thought will be given as to how and why a multicultural focus should be central to the church or ministry’s overarching strategy and identity. We will then discuss implementation, specifically the importance of cross-cultural discipleship, developing leadership diversity, changing expectations around traditions, along with enduring doubt, opposition, and attrition.

Let’s be honest, talking about money is tricky business. We’re skeptical of people’s motivations, unsure of how to best handle our resources, wary of being manipulated, and fearful of not having enough. We’ve got issues when it comes to money.

Jesus’ dream and desire is for us live free, vibrant, generous lives. But what does it mean to be financially generous? What are barriers we all face towards growing in generosity? How should we practically give? How can giving impact my life? In this four-part sermon series, we will explore these questions and what it means for us to trust God with money, experience freedom, and grow in generosity.

January 2nd, 2017

Rhythm Team

To start off 2017, Rhythm is talking about what it means to a church that Loves God and Loves Miami. We live in one of the most vibrant and interesting cities in the world. Miami is known for its diversity, creativity, and beauty. But it’s also known for its seductiveness and shallowness. We’re doing a sermon series about the unique opportunities and challenges of living the faith in Miami. God loves this city and we want to participate in his healing mission here!

Along with the sermons, our liturgy in worship will be centered around following Jesus here in this place and time. We’ll also hear stories from different people in our community – some born here, others new here – about how they’re striving to see more of God’s kingdom come to our city.

Join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am for the next four weeks!

We’re encouraging everyone to participate in this sermon series in 3 ways:

Use the Miami Prayer Map to pray for the city. Put it somewhere that you’ll see it everyday and grow your heart for Miami.

Participate in the social healing of God’s kingdom by inviting someone to connect with Rhythm on a Sunday morning or with your Community Group. Invite others to experience God’s community.

Take a picture of you in your “parish” (work, neighborhood, or school) and post it on Facebook or Instagram with #lovegodlovemiami. To learn more about a “parish” listen to this sermon.

As we continue our conversations on racial reconciliation, Rhythm invites you to a movie night to watch Netflix’s original film, “13th,” addressing race and the mass incarceration problem in our country.

Join us on Friday, Nov 18th at 7:00 PM at TML (711 NW 6th Ave, Miami, FL 33136). Bring a friend and a movie snack to share. For more info contact Liz.

If you asked ten people what they think the purpose of the church is, you’d probably get ten different responses! Each of us has our own set of experiences, hopes, desires, expectations, and plans when it comes to the local church. In this four-part sermon series, we will study the New Testament description of the church and give practical vision for what it means for Rhythm to accomplish our mission in this season.